Boss BR-1180CD

It is fairly easy to get very nice sounds right out of the box. It does take a bit of reading to understand the logic behind how these units work. I just burned my first song to CD after sitting down and working with the BR-1180CD for about two days. Mine came with Ver.2 so I didn't have to upgrade. I feel pretty comfortable with it now and ready to make and burn more songs.

Very Nice sounds for a All-in-One Unit for around $300.00 used. Lots of good sounds for many styles on Guitar, Bass and Vocals. I use several different Guitars, Mics, and an Alesis QS6.1 keyboard. Good built in Drum tracks with different Drum Kits. I'm still trying to learn how to adjust the Drum tracks and import loops. It is fairly quiet on noise. Just set your levels right. As with anything, it just takes time to get better sound through trial and success.

So far...So Good! Since I don't have a back up, I guess I would use it alone. I would just be Careful not to bang it around too much! I see on here where some people have had problems...I guess there are a few bad lemons out there, but most people seem very happy with the BR-1180CD.

Haven't needed them yet, but I hear Boss is pretty Good at backing their products.

I use it for all types of music. I've been playing for about 25 yrs. If it were lost or stolen, I would surely get another or upgrade to a BR-1600CD for about $500.00 more on a used unit. I like Boss products, I just wish it had a Metal casing, not plastic. I compared it to other units in the same price range and the BR-1800CD gets my Vote! I wish it came with a USB port, but I guess you can't get everything for this price. Just have to import/export thru the CD player. If you have the time and patients to learn how this unit works, I think you will be Very Pleased with the BR-11800CD!

After I watched the video and messed around with it for a couple days, I pretty much had the hang of it. But I still don't know a thing about how to incorporate MIDI functions on it, even though it's equipped with it.

The sound quality is pretty good, but it still sounds "digital" which is what you'd expect, I guess. I don't like the way it records bass guitar though, and it's a role of the dice if you get it right. Vocals seemed too "soft" too, until I switched to using dyamic mics instead of condenser microphones. (in spite of all the settings) Trust me I've explored this machine inside and out. But my acoustic guitar recordings come out fabulous with 2 condenser mics in stereo of course. Also i'm just running a 1/4" line in for keyboards and it still sounds like a real piano...impressive...and simple.

Overall, I'm glad I bought it. I've recorded one album at a real studio, and one album on the BR1180, and this unit sounded better, believe me.

So far so good...but everyone's got me scared with all the bitching about their hard drive problems. I've had mine for over 3 yrs...nothing yet...?

Never needed customer support.

I write guitar and piano pop songs, and they come out nice with this machine. There've been a few snags along the way, but I've managed to get around them, because I'm resourceful...lol

Very intuitive. Simple to use, not as simple to master. You can get a recording to sound decent right out of the box, but if you spend time exploring the settings you can really get it to sound great.

Very surprised and happy with the sound quality. It doesn't sound at all "tinny" or shallow the way I expected a reasonably priced digital recorder to sound. The reverb, if used effectively, really deepens the sound and if you have a nice condenser mic you can really get a nice rich sound.

Honestly this category is the only reason I'm writing this review. I've had my BR1180 for 3 years. In that time my band has invested some serious cash on a Mac and ProTools etc etc. The Br1180 has been sitting in a corner with stuff piled on top of it. To make matters worse, we were just evicted from our practice space and during the move it was thrown into a huge garbage bad and, subsequently, mistaken for garbage. With the rest of the garbage it was tossed onto the sidewalk and covered with other heavy bags of trash. Once I realized what had happened, I dug it out, rushed it home, plugged it in, and it didn't even flinch. Never given me problems ever. I do appreciate shit that doesn't break.

Never needed it.

The sound of this machine is pretty good. I used to have a BD532 and this one is much better. The COMS effects are usable although I really prefer the sound of my amp. I am recording this directly using a mic. I don't use many effects apart for a wonderful sounding Boss Cs3 compressor modified by a Spanish company called Pedaldoc.

I had also a BD8 and that one was a piece of crap if you ask me.

Good sound.

My equipment:

Stratoster SRV / Boss Cs3 compressor (mofified by pedaldoc) / Fender BLues deluxe 40W

I got it about two years ago and I still haven't had to phone ROland for anything so I would say this product is quite reliable.

Don't know. It has always worked fine.

I play mainly blues (real blues) and the machine records everything pretty good.

I have been playing for 15 years.

I don't know if I would buy another one if it was stolen. Probably I would go for something newer.

This unit was fairly easy to learn how to use without the manual, but I needed the manual to understand the "Advanced Use" features. If you have firmware version 1 you definitely will want to upgrade to firmware version 2.0, which is available as a free download from the BOSS website. I like the fact that this device allows me to organize my music by songs, and once I title the songs, then I can burn a CD by merely rotating the selector knob and choosing the titles I have already assigned to the songs. This is a new way for me to work, and it is helping me become more productive. At first I didn't know how to turn on the Phantom power, which is underneath the "System" menu.

I use this as a live mixer to mix the sounds that are going to the mains during performances, while simultaneously recording everything to the hard disk. I like the effects, but I haven't tried them during the initial recording... I like the Digital Delay for my trumpet sound, which adds presence if I wasn't able to get it from the room sound. So far I haven't explored all the COSM effects, but I like the ability to edit the reverb delay time by pressing the "Delay" button. So the fact that there aren't a lot of room presets doesn't bother me much. My main gripe is that I would like more than two simultaneous recording tracks... but an upstream mixer would solve that problem.

From the manual I was able to record a MIDI sync track and use it to synchronize with an external sequencer (the Boss DR-5.) I was very happy that the unit recognizes both MIDI sync, and also recognizes different kinds of time code... both PAL and NTSC, with different frame rates. Very impressive.

To me the BR-1180 sounds great,especially for the price I paid.

The BR-1180 has been mostly reliable for me, except in one situation where I think I had unreliable line current.

I haven't needed to call for support yet, because so much good information is available from the website. The PDF manual is very informative, as are the PDF notes distributed with the firmware upgrade. After the firmware upgrade I was able to install a 40 G hard disk with no problems.. and now I can access either partition from the partition menu! A pleasant surprise indeed, since I had read that this unit maxes out at 20 G.

I am a jazz musician, and for me this unit is an excellent match. I don't mind that it has lots of guitar effects because I want my music to sound contemporary when I want it to. I'm very impressed with the unit. When I bought it, CD burning didn't work but I still felt it was worth my purchase price for the other functions, so I chose not to return it. After upgrading the hard disk, now CD burning works! I am just thrilled. I would definitely buy another one, unless I decide to graduate to one of the larger units, such as the BR-1600.

Easy to get sound out- easy to use.
Manual and phone support really suck. It's like somebody threw you in front of the controls of an aircraft and was trying to explain how to fly the plane -and you had no idea what they were talking about ( refering to the section on drums)

Very easy

Yes

They are helpful but have no clue how to explain anything

All styles

Playing guitar for 25 years

Really love the machine. I can be a band by myself

as recording in general goes i found the boss br1180cd a little intimidating at first but as you sit down and slowly work your way through it you find that its all just a button away really.
ive had mine for two days now and i think its great but my only problem with this unit is recording drums as there are only two xlr inputs and at the moment im trying to find a good way around this.
if anyone is a drummer and knows how to concour this problem please let me know at my email adress on this reveiw.

the sound quality is sweet i love it the onboard effects are exellent and there not just presets you can alter them.
i dont know if this is what most people do but i am hooking the headphone input up to an amp and its a tad noisy but it isnt their on cd recordings as i was mucking around and slapped eight tracks of nonsense onto cd to see.
my overall opinion is that if your expecting an album of amazing quality dont kid yourself that can cost a lot more than the boss and thats only one album so i like the quality in general and it gets the job done.

i cant really anwser this topic at the present as i have the unit stationed but i think its quiet durable due its decent robustness
i wouldnt use this unit in a gig as the preset drum tracks loop on and theyre boring after a few minutes i am a drummer and the drum program is nothing more than a toy but the sound quality of them are ok.

ive only just got the unit really and i havent needed these guys really.....

i like it still unshure about the drum recording issue but ill manage. if it were stolen well i hope not cos it would break my heart and the bank!!!.

i have to say there isnt anything i "Hate" but more a tad uneasy with ie. there are ten tracks but you need nine and ten free to bounce in order to record ,at least thats what i think im still trying to troubleshoot this!? but overall yup i have to say its a wicked peice of kit for the cash
and buy looking at its competitors it looks the easiest to use

NOTE: These are all my personal ratings over one year of use.

About me: A guitar player, been in a band, now solo. Genres encompassed: Metal (Metallica, Pantera, Cannibal Corpse) , Rock (Dream Theater, Dokken & the 80's Metal scene, 90's grunge scene), Jazz (John McLaughlin, The Guitar Trio, Al Di Meola solo ventures, John Abercrombie, Gambale etc) , Fusion (Shakti, Prasanna, Shawn Lane), New Age/Neuvo Flamenco (Strunz and Farah, Pierre Bensusan, Michael Hedges, Tommy Emmanuel etc)

This is my first recording instrument and I watched the demo video (2 of them) twice and I had this thing up and running. Boss has some nice patches (Arpeggiated, Clean Solo, Blues Solo and Delayed Solo). I particularly like the BASS patches (maybe not authentic for some), but for a solo musician / home recorder as myself, its a great help, and its really good for some Stanley Jordan/Kiko Loureiro type 2 handed playing (chordal, not Van Halenesque single liners).

I used the manual for inserting effects and re-recording some pieces. I really have not exploited the equpiment to its fullest, so I have not really read the manual too well either. Used a Mic to lay vocals, and a mic for Acoustic Nylon Guitar. Came out rather well, but you do need to mess with the frequencies a little.

The drum patches are to my liking. There are some solid beats already in there and I have some of those Discrete Drums CDs which I import and use. This gets a rating of 10 at this point because its so damn easy to import and sequence drum patterns for this instrument. I'm not really into Dream Theater/George Bellas "change complex time signature every beat by x= 9.5 z * [5% odd time of last beat] " style, so it works well for me. I have used, for my CD, some of the in built Rock, Heavy, Jazz and Fusion beats. I would recommend buying a couple of Discrete Drum Cds if you like some percussion beats(tablas, Latin drums, congos etc) in your music, coz this is something that the BR-1180CD does not have. Discrete Drums has Cd's specially designed for Boss 1180CD product (how nice!). And they are real easy to import. Plus, the BR-1180CD automatically adjusts the tempo to the current settings and you can manually change the tempo at every beat if you like and thats real easy to do as well.

You can also slip a Cd into the system and Jam with it / import it to the disk: VERY VERY USEFUL for people who like to mindlessly solo like the 80's shredders for 2 hours. Put a backing track and solo like there is no tomorrow. The "Jam with" series and "band in a box" style Cds are always in my Cd tray and you can mess with different effects while soloing. Oh, the disk offers a reasonable 60 hours of recording. So you can have multiple songs on the equipment itself. But since you have a CD burner, you really never run out of space, unless you need to keep all your songs in an editable manner (track by track: non bounced)for later, and even then there is a long time before you run short.


So far (touch wood) no problems with this unit. Been with me for 1 year now.

I used this piece with: Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Vocal Microphone and an Acoustic Recording Mic (well, kinda designed for Acoustic Guitars). I have a CD out and people say its near CD quality. I'm not sure about their views, but its way, way, better than some of those promo CD's by bands I pick up at my local Cd shop !!!

Its noisy once I introduce my Korg Ax1G in the routing loop. There is a significant hiss / noise that comes thru with the small effect pedal, but this is true for the Keyboards as well. If you're playing a full orchestrated song (like in a band) you won't notice this one bit, but if you're doing a solo piece, this could be an issue, albiet a minor one.

The effects are great and to my liking. *****I'm not trying to emulate any guitarist I know, so I dont have any issues*****. [And while we're on the subject how the hell am I to emulate Steve Morse's sound when he uses 5 pickups specicially wired for his sounds!!!]. For someone trying to do that, you may want to play with this thing before you buy it.

The BASS effects are great for 2 handed playing and the vocals hide my croaking (I actually won $10 off a friend who couldnt believe it was me!). I use the Patches 32 (Clapton), 50 (Distortion), 53 (Metal solo), 58(Bluesy Solo), 59 (Delayed Solo) and 60 (wah solo) a lot and these work really well for me. I modulate a "rounder" sound using my guitar Epiphone Fat 210 - tone and pickup settings. The acoustic patch settings are nice as well.

I have gotten the "bubbling arpeggio" sound (a la Yngwie, Bellas, Cooley) from it and a nice crunch for rhythm and some clean comping for Jazz voicings. Again my friends were quite impressed with the quality.

You can't take this to a Gig (unless you're filthy rich).
So far so good : realiable

Nope, so far no need for them folks

My influences (recently) are primarily : Indo-Fusion, Jazz and New Age (Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Kaki King etc style of tapping and whacking ). Metal took a back seat for sometime. The drum patches on this are great and they are really easy to use. I did try programming my own patterns, and I got a decent beat from that ... but it requires patience and I would rather import than sit and program (I do that as a day job anyways: Programming, that is).

Been playing for 5+ years. Got 4 Guitars at home and some flutes and keyboard.

If stolen, yes I'd buy it again .... this time in installments.

I like its ease of use, I find it nice and light and fits into a corner rather snug (important for an apartment). The effects are nice and sound good.

I compared this with the GNX4 and some other Roland models at Guitar Center. I chose this for its ease of use, Budget and the chance to learn and make my own CD on it.

I wish it had some more drum tracks (not beats) to add. But you can only add one extra to the pre-existing track (havne't explored it in full, but thats what it seems like).

It helps me create the ambiance I need for my kind of music. So two thumbs up for that.

I have had no issues for the last one year and I use it regularly for messing around (read everyday at least on hour) either to practice or jam or record. At the drop of a hat I can get up at 3 in the morning and record an idea/riff/solo piece running in my head in about 8 mins and go back to sleep knowing that I have captured the idea and its not lost !! Bye bye lost riffs !!

The sound reproduction quality is amazing. BUT DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!!! I've had it for two years, and the hard drive has been replaced twice. And although it sounds great when it is working properly, there are way to many problems, and it is very difficult to use. I just got it back from the second round of repairs and it still has the same hi pitched sound, and hiss that made me send it in for repairs both times. I am giving up on it and buying something else. A thousand dollar loss.

The repair facility in Los Angles, CA says that they have thousands with the same bad hard drives that they have had to replace. They would put another type of hard drive in, that is of better quality, but nothing else will fit in the space.

I am in Northern CA, and I have been without my BR-1180 for two months due to repairs needed. I repeat, DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!!!

Many Regrets

Randy

Great sound and effects

I have needed two hard drives, and it still is not working properly.

They were very efficient and nice people. So was the manager of the department.

I play folk music, and the sound is great. I've been play for two years,and I paly a Epiphone Gibson AJ. Not only would I buy something else if it were stolen or lost, but I am throwing it away so no oneelse will have to deal with it. I love the sound, but the problems are ridiculous. I did not compare it to other products. Ultimately it frustrates me horribly because of difficulty of use and reliability issues.

This is a very easy to use recorder. I've only needed the manual once or twice after getting used to it initially. When functioning correctly, it gets a very true sound from the instrument. However, mine works horribly which is why I'm leaving this review. I've talked with people who know Roland/Boss products well and have come to no conclusion why mine works so horribly. I get the error message "Drive Error" anytime I use a high quality level of recording. Even when I use the lowest level of recording quality once I get more than three tracks or so on there I get the error and and I can't record anything else. It has rendered the unit absolutely USELESS. Now it's a 700 dollar paper weight.

The guitar and vocal effects are great. There's a lot of extraneous effects I can't imagine anyone really using but they're fun nonetheless. I've used peavey condenser mics and a marshall classic 50 410 amp as well as a cheap little Drive brand amp and both sound great with the machine. The machine gets great room ambience with room and distance mic-ing schemes. You can get great acoustic tones with mic-ing the guitar rather than using the acoustic guitar effects in the machine. The acoustic effects are it's weakest link. They are thin and trebely. All other effects are pretty good. Some I would use on stage if I thought the machine was sturdy enough to gig with... although I don't really know if I could wire it right... the point is the guitar and vocal effects are good.

HORRIBLE. This machine is the most unreliable piece of equipment I've come across... ever. My advice, don't buy one. Let Roland/Boss get their digital recording technologies down a little better. They have new stuff coming out. I STRONGLY recommend you don't buy one of these. It's caused me nothing but headaches. Imagine getting half way done with a recording and the machine just won't let you go any farther. All it does is says "Drive Error". You can't record ANYTHING. It's the most infuriating machine you can buy. I can't stress enough how poorly this machine has performed for me.

What support???? if my family didn't own a music retail store I would've never even been able to talk to somebody from Roland. It's awful.

This machine theoretically could record any type of music very well. I had a four track analog casette recorder before this. I wanted to use to do accurate and professional sounding demos... never happened.. unfortunately because this machine is worthless I'm back to the four-track, at least it works. I love the machine when it works... which is about 1 percent of the time. The other 99% of me hates it.

As soon as I'd plugged in my guitar, and ajusted the sensitivity botton with my pick-up output it just sounded great. and I've sofar not had any problems navigating around in the guitar FX interface. The FX for MIC and LINE inputs are likewise idioticly intuitive. Its easy to switch FX-type and eg. use guitar preset on synth plugged in through the LINE IN or use the compressor in the LINE section as a primitive master compressor.
The seccond FX processor is primeraly for reverbs but includes also doublin', delay and chorus. Sadly you can only use 1 of these three at a time.
The mastering prosess is a piece of cake but has caused me some trouble.
So has the MIDI connection. I first tried hooking my BR-1180CD up with my old Ensoniq VFX/SD synth-sequencer syncing framerates and shit, but it turned out, my only use for the MIDI was to play Ensoniq drumsounds with the BOSS drummachine. an idea I quit while it would cause me to save all the Ensoniq drumkits in GM.
The built in drummachine is, even if you have no experience with boss drum devices, quite easy to use.
Unlike the FX, the audio track editing tooke some time for me to get used to. Erasing unintended noise by marks is quite easy, but when it comes to more advanced copying and pasting it can seem pretty circumstancial(?) compared to pc-based systems.

I'm overall satisfied with the guitar preamp sounds. E.g. the "wox drive" gives a nice natural warmth to the tone. The drummachine sounds great to.

The room little in between the LCD-display and the transperant plastic cover has been infected with dust, and I don't dare screwing it totally apart to wipe it of. It makes me a little sad, that I did'nt keep covering it in the plastic protection it was delivered in.
Another thing that sometimes makes me swear in anger is the mastering prosess that once in a while stresses the computer so much that a "Drive busy!"-dialog pops up and brakes the prosess. Other times i've had to restart the device while it would'nt even record the master; but besides that I've not had any trouble at all.

I've mostly used my BOSS with my Gibson ES-135 with P-100 pick-ups (sometimes through the emulated mixer output of my Marshall JTM60, sounds great but why bother); Beyerdynamic M88N(C) microfone; Ensoniq VFX/SD music production synthesizer and an Yamaha DX11 synthesizer.
I will only reccomend this device to people who play guitar. It's great when you want to make a quick sketch or try some ideas, and you can actually create a decent demo recording if you add some keaboards and stuff to it and use the built in drummachine; but make no mistake: It's no HD-recorder in the common sense of the word - for that particular use there is a thousand better alternatives. It's more like a guitar composer notebook...thing.

When I first saw the BR-1180 I was iffy on it.
Since trying a Boss BR-532 I was very nervous to hear the sound, But very very suprised at the quality of build and sound.
Since Boss claims it to be the "easiest Digital recorder in the world", Manuel SHAMUEL!
This unit was shipped with Version 2 software. Not sure if that means realy anything to me........

I have realy only needed the manuel a couple of times.

I am recording various instruments(guitar bass drums keys percusion etc.)....
I record drums mainly by way of a Yamaha DTXpress electronic drum set and using the internal guitar sounds. I have been impressed by Boss efects for a while now(I had a Boss GT-3 for a while) and cant say much bad about them.
I havent noticed much noise in the recordings themselves but did notice some odd sounds through my monitors(sounds like a Hard drive spinning). I use a set of M-Audio BX-5 monitors.......
I listen to alot of ambiant music(A Perfect Circle, various others) and the reverbs are great for the sounds I want!
Two ins may be limiting for some but I have never realy needed a load of in's.... I record drums with one mic so its no big deal to me.

I would depend on this machine for personal home studio use and recording live gigs.

I have delt with roland and boss alot in the past(havent needed them yet on the BR).... I can say I have ever had a problem with them.
Though I did work at a Mars music in MN and heard some bad stories about them.

I like this machine having had a few others(Yamaha AW16G, Roland VS-880EX, VS-840, VS-890)... It beats the heck out of casette 4-tracks!!!!
I love it and will recomend it to anyone!

If it was stollen I would flipp out, and then call my insurence agent and get another!

I do wish it had a USB port though.........
I have been playing music for 12years and graduated for the afore mentioned Casette 4-track........ It meats my needs and then some.

Very easy to get a good sound out of it I find.
Manual is good if you take your time and try everything
suggested. Although I still can't seem to figure out how to
build a rhythm track with the internal drum machine. The drums
sound decent but I'm having trouble with that part.
This was the version II unit, with internal CD burner.
I found once you go through and create a few tunes, get them mixed
mastered, and finally cut the CD. It's all repetition and pretty
basic to use. I do hate that damned 'good sounding' but 'immposible
to program' drum kit though! I'll give it a healthy 9 though!

I record with both acoustic and electric guitars.
Takamine and Strat Plus. I record direct because there are just
so many preprogramed samples to play through, I find I don't need
much else. Lots of the crunch samples all start sounding the same
after a short time. There are some cool variations but there must
be 25 different distortion tones, and once you get to #18, you can't
remember what #3 sounded like, ya know? Acoustic samples are pretty
good, but in the end, I usually decide that an acoustic plugged in direct, with no effects sounds better. My nylon string records really
nicely through it. Very easy to balance volumes between tracks, easy to pan L & R. The after thought effects, like adding reverb or delay
work well and sound good to my ear. We'll put it this way, I'm still a beginner, definitely not a techno wizard, and I've only recorded about 10 tunes so far. When I play the finished CD's for friends they
are invariably blown away that it was created in my living room in like 2 hours. 'nuff said. This is not an absolute professional unit,
but if you want to make 'professional type' recording in your home -
you can't beat this thing! I love it. Almost forgot to mention the Bass simulations, noew I'm sure they would sound better if I actually
played a bass through them but, I don't and they do a decent impression of a bass in my opinion. Good enough that I don't even consider buying a bass anymore.

Like I said, I've only done 10 or so songs. Not had any problems
what-so-ever.
Then again, I am VERY! careful with this unit. I plug inputs in
carefully, pull them out carefully, don't drink coffee around it,
you know common sense stuff that people tend to forget when they are
in a rush, that's when problems arise! I would not use this live
to record a band, might be too fragile with the built in hard drive and all. plus it doesn't have enough inputs to record a full band!

Nevr had to deal with them,I have had many BOSS pedals, with
nary a problem. I don't expect any with this unit either.

I'm recording mostly acoustic instrumentals. all original stuff.
With the occasional electric guitar in the background, or taking up
a solo. It ceratinly helps me make music! If it were lost or stolen
I'd buy another one ASAP. I traded in a BR-532 to get this unit.
It's a definite extension of the 532. Only with a built in CD burner.
that there is worth it's weight in gold. A quick $1,000 and I'm totally state of the art! Sometimes, I'll just plug my Strat in and
play through the unit with moniters and treat it like an amp basically
it sounds terrific in my living room. In fact, I've got a nice Fender
Princeton amp that is just kinda sitting there now. I know lots of folks out there will say this is not as good as PRO TOOLS and all, and they are right but it comes down to this, Most of the people considering buying a unit like this, whatever it is, KORG, BOSS or
whatever, you're not going to quit your day job (sorry to be the one to tell you) and become a professional musician or recording engineer
so any of these units will be better and sound better than you can even imagine, all I know is this, the BR1180CD is a fanatic unit.
Everything I've recorded sounds great. The compliments never stop coming when I let people listen. That is best testimonial you will ever get!

Version 2.0 Refurb with Warranty from AMS. Some of my positive points must be couched by the disclaimer it is the best I could find for my purposes at this price pont. You cxan always spend more for more...

I would like to do computer based 24 bit recording like some of my more technically oriented friends but I swear they could teach PhD courses in MIDI. I cannot even start to figure out the Sonar software loaded on my computer. This I just plugged in, tweaked, and laid down 5 cool tracks within an hour. It IS a tool for guitarists, not for primary keyboard or synth composers. Built in Drum machine is not as easy to program as a free satndin Boss DR, but is great for jamming to Riffs and can be programmed for songs, but you will definitely need the manual and practice. With two XLR and 1 1/4" in, it cannot multitrack record my entire 8 piece band at once (but is a great practice tool for the band running stereo outs from the 20 channel Mackie mixer). For home doodling it is nearly perfect. Really wish it had a USB out like the Korgs and even the Boss BR 864, but decided CD transfer to my computer will suffice for my needs so this was a keeper. I cannot imagine how owners of the 1180 without the CD burner will be able to do anything useful with their units but that would be a different review. You Do need to read the Manual. I also got the optional Video, and am in the market for the book available re this unit. I have not found any user groups, unlike the great Korg site. Maybe I am the only one who owns this?...

It is 16 Bit/ 44 KHz. Fine for home use, and the current standard for CDs. I almost sprang for the newly released BR 1600 for more tracks and features but that is at least $1250 (WHERE?? you ask- my secret) and is still 16 bit so not in the sweet spot for pricing.

No problems with sound. Hard drive based so be gentle. Built in guitar models are SWEET. I used some to go out straight to DAT to overdub some of my solos at the studio we rent to record a CD. Basically you get a Boss Gt 6 thrown in. Drum machine thrown in. Mixing tool kit thrown in. Do no be an idiot and pay $1000- $1245 but shop around and this is the ONE!

NA. Not a gig machine, but nicely portable and quick set up if you want stero recording of your badn from a mixer for practice or gigs. Faders and knobs feel solid.

I had questions. Called the 800#, got a knowlegeable rep on the first try. He faxed some extra documents. Compared to Fender a real deal. I see they do not have manuals in PDF so 8 here.

I am an accomplished guitarist. I use this for practice and as a song notebook daily. I did not buy it blindly. Looked at the Yamahas, Korgs, Rolands, thought about computer based recording on my state of the art Dell. For a relative technophobe who just wants to play guitar, for portability, and for a real "studio in a box", this is one of the best out there and the best for my price needs. I now have bucks left over for a nice set of monitors. Or another axe!!!

This is essentially a computer, so get ready for the left--right--brain collisions as you endeavor to translate your creative vision!!

I went so far as to research extensively on the web, and even bought well ahead of buying it, the video owners manual, which itself came on VHS and opened with very erratic sound levels -- not a good image-builder!

Today, I am still struggling with the rhythm builder functions, which refuse to import all the drum loops from my brand new SOnic Foundry CD; reads to load, then stops with an ERROR sign! Also, when you lay a rhythm track, paly it back, and there will be empty holes, and it arbitrarily STOPS on EMPTY when you try to continue building out more measures!!!

It is very easy to record guitar and voice, so just label this thing as a guitar/composer's rig, for laying down ideas, NOT for making presentable CDs!

I use acoustic guitars, as Taylor 12 mikes, and plugged in via-Fishman saddle pu. and a Telecaster and a precision bass and mic a mando and harps.
The effects are so-so --- very digital in origin, like a Game Boy I suppose.

I just want a decent sound, but I bought this thing for its claimed attributes -- i.e., the rhythm builders, which sound good in principle, but just do not work, so I paid too much for nothing!

Again, this is essentially a computer. Enough said.

I will try tech support, but am not optimistic.

This was such a great concept............so sad.

This is supposed to help me make nusic, but it is chasing me away! This was supposed to be the missing pallette and canvas for the painter, but you might as well take a spray can to a subway wall!

Manual is well written and indexed. Browse through it, then learn by doing.

Roughly every third take it would record with significant wow, making my Baldwin grand piano sound like a sick banjo. I was going to exchange it for another BR1180cd, but then, fooling with the insert effects [in modes Rec Dry, Tracks 1/2, and master], I discovered that compression and EQ were being applied to the L channel much more than the R... Neat... Boss can keep it, I'll try the Korg d1200mkII. Also, the reverbs, which sounded OK with a cheap, ancient Realistic mic, just sounded cheap with my Shure KSM32 condensers. Finally, why record at 16 bit and play at 24 bit - to confuse the unwary [like myself until another reviewer clued me in]?

Out of the box it had at least two defects - what else can I say?

The store said Boss was great with support. And I was the first one to have a problem. And 2+2=...-7?

The box said made in Japan, but I think mine was..."Assembled with perversity by the natives of central F--kupistan". Great for masochists who love wasting hours and hours of their lives.

I am NOT a technical guy by any means. I want to have gear that I plug in and GO! That pretty much describes the BR-1180-CD unit! I have a Yamaha MT 50 that worked pertty well for my last recording (analog), but lets face it, this is the new milliniuem and I need to get with the prorgam! The manual was real intimidating (over 150 pages), but it has lots of pictures so it is not that bad! It took me a few minutes to figure out how to edit patches, and I had not cracked the manual open yet!

I use a Taylor 514C with bridge p/u and a Crown internal mic for my acoustic set up. I also go thru a Line 6 Delay box then direct into the BR-1180. I have some noise issues and cannot figure out exactly where they are coming from. I am able to master most of it out in the fiinal mixing, but it is still there. I am assuming it is from the compressor (I have a BOSS GT3 and that compressor is REAL noisy). The built in Mastering Tools take care of most of the hissing though. I love the DOUBLER effect! It really fills in places that need a fuller sound. But overall the quality of the final product is really good.

Only had it a few months so time will tell.

Never needed them and no offense to them as I am sure they are all nice people, but i hope I never do!

I am pretty much just a solo fingerstyle guitarist and this little unit has been just great. I also played my electric guitar direct into the 1180 and just used the onboard effects. I got a real sweet "Ventures" style tone out of it for one fun song I did, then a real full distortion and hard compression thing on another song (no noise with the electric btw). I also like the built in CD burner! I made a master, copied it, then sent it out for reproduction! How easy can it get!? I also took this thing to a friend's house to get help mixing and mastering as he has one of his own. What he showed me was exactly what I was doing to begin with. I could not believe this unit was THAT easy to use, I thought there had to be more to it than that!

I have found this to be one of the easiest units to use that I have tried. (Yamaha AW16G, Korg D1200, Zoom MRS-802 to name a few) I LOVE the icon interface, and the layout is extremely intuitive. Even though it is very simple to get a basic recording out of it, you MUST read the manual, and even then you're really on your own to experiment and figure out what works and what doesn't. I happen to have the new version 2.0 that incorporates programmable rythm tracks, some minor tweaks and shortcuts.

I come from the days or reel to reel 4 track recording, so I can't imagine the sound getting any better. Even the built-in amp sims are good, and very tweakable.(I'm still using a Vamp2 for the real takes though) The effects are what you'd expect with a Boss product, although I wish there were more reverbs to choose from in the loop effects (Only Hall and Room are available)

I owned a BR-8 a while back and had absolutely no issues. I have read extensively in the BR-1180 users groups and checked around, and it seems like a solid unit. The only reason I'm giving it a "5" is because it's too soon to tell if it will stand the test of time. I CAN say that I upgraded mine with the user-intallable CD burner, and had some minor issues with "Data Read Error" on occassion, but my dealer was great with replacing it, and have'nt had any problems so far wih the replacement. (Knock on wood). In fact, the CD burner is the only really questionable part of the recorder, since they use the dinky laptop burners that are very fragile.

When the CD burner went bad, I called their tech support and was surprised to have my call answered on the first ring by a rep that was extremely helpful and friendly. Very impressive and thorough!

Unless your record company is paying the tab, or unless you need to record live drums, I can't imagine anyone needing anything else! I have extensively researching every unit under $1000, and in my opinion the Boss wins hands down. The runner-up for me was the Yamaha AW16G, but it was more money, and didn't include built in drums, only had 2 effects processors, less than stellar amp sims/effects, and had more inputs than I could ever use. I actually took home a Zoom MRS-802CD since it seemed to be identical in features as the BR-1180, but cheaper, but I soon realized that it was not even close. The 802 requires you to navigate layers of menus that are all abbreviated, and the layout is extremely clunky to navigate. Also, the provedure to import loops or samples on the 802 seemed way too complicated when compared to the BR-1180. Another contender I had contemplated was a new unit Boss is releasing called the BR-864, that is replacing the Br-532. It has 8 tracks, programmable drum tracks, and most of the goodies of it's bigger brother...but for half the price. The reason I didn't wait for it's release, was because it runs on Compact Flash which is limited on recording time, and also lacks all of the finer points that the BR-1180 has. In the end I'm extremely happy with my purchase. Complaints? I wish:the display was a tad larger, more drum kits were available, the track arming buttons were labelled so you knew what you were hitting in the rythm promgramming mode, standard size CD burner could be used so it could be replaced more cheaply and was a little sturdier. I should point out that these are minor points compared at what I would have called a miracle 10 years ago!

I bought this unit used without the manual. And within a single day, I had figured out everything but the internal drum machine. I've had several recorders so I am already familiar with this type of unit. I've had the Roland 880EX, the Roland 1880, and the Yamaha AW4416. I sold them all because I got tired of having to refer to the manual everytime I wanted to use effects or mix down etc. The Boss 1180's claim that you don't need the manual is not a hoax. If you want to add effects you push a button and there it is. Anything you want to use on this machine is simple to do so. To get familiar with the other units I've owned you had to use it everyday and still you had to refer to the manual to perform most common tasks. I'm simply amazed that this unit is so simple to use as compared to the others. I really really hate to give something a 10 but by doing so it doesn' mean I think it's perfect, But I do believe its the best in this catagory.

At first I wasn't crazy about the sound, but when I mastered the final takes on a couple of demos I had recorded, the background noise and digital squeelingness (how about that word?) were not on the CD I had made. Also, I have to add that I didn't mess with the EQ much so I'm sure it can only get better. I scrolled through the COSM effects and was surprised how useable some of them were. There are so many that I really haven't had time to analyze each one but I will say they're good. It also has phantom power which is cool. I've only had this unit for two weeks so I'm sure that I'll figure out how to tweek it to make better sound quality as I go.

Again, It is used and I've only had it a couple of weeks but I've had no problems.

Not dealt with them.

I really like this thing. I'm not trying to make large production studio recordings, however I feel that this unit is capable of quality recordings. I am using this mainly for recording ideas, working on arrangements, general song writting stuff. It has a 20gb hard drive which is ample space, phantom power, good effects. My only complaint is that you can only record two tracks at one time. Which is only a problem if you are going to record studio mic'd drums or something.For what I use it for, It's perfecct! It's nice to have this when you're working on a song and not really interested in reading a manual that ultimately steals your creative drive and turns it into frustration. I'd like to see this in an 18 or 24 track version with more simultaneous recording tracks and yet keep its simple user friendly vibe. If it were stolen, I'd call the cops. If it were lost, I'd call the cops and tell them it was stolen. Then I'd beat the cop up for looking at my wife, take his uniform and cruiser and pull some people over and talk to them calmly and seriously while I had a snott bubble hanging from my nose. I'd then ask them what they were laughing at as if my feelings were hurt and suddenly sprint away into the dark screaming and crying.

If you want to use the unit like and analogue tape deck then it is a doddle, but it aint a tape deck it is a digital work station. When it comes to working with other digital instruments ... forget it. They sacrificed too much to make it guitar friendly

As usual people who make guitar effects think we are all screaming bonkers rock-a-maniacs, to me one screaming guitar sounds much like another. Also any guitarist in a position to spend US$1000 on a recorder is going to have guitar effects comming out their ears? But guitarists are not likely to have many vocal effects, and this unit is very short on vocal effects. This category is sound quality the actual recorded sound cannot be faulted for quality, you can't expect more from a "home" device.

It's worked thus far, but the CD tray is the same as that you get with a notebook computer, and needs to be used with care.

NOT NEEDED IT

My music is classed as "contemporary" and I do not think I made the right purchase decision.
Over 30 years of playing and a room stcked out with stuff,
If it was lost or stolen then I would not consider buying again
No hassle recording like a tape deck, hate the tiny LCD, hey boss they're not that exspensive, funky guitar tuner
I compared it with everything, it was not my first choice but the deal I was offered was too good to miss ... probably!
The unit seems (I am waiting for support) totally ignore MIDI Recording midi (even if 8 out of 16 track) would make it a much better unit.
Because I use a lot of midi it gets in the way because it is no different to analogue tape with more tracks, but for guitar work it is the easiest to use,
It is another mark in the colum of horses for courses, if you are a guitarist only then you are going to be in seventh heaven I suppose, but once you put down the guitar ... ? You cannopt fault the quality of finished product you could produce from it, it has to be the best in class for sound recording quality, but no midi interpretation except from line in tends to defeat the object of going didgital

Very easy. I only refer to the manual to go deeper into utilizing the thing, all basic recording and mixing functions can be mastered in the first 10 minutes after plugging it in. Very well written manual with plenty of big pictures and step by step instructions for everything. More advanced usage requires more time in the manual but what doesn't?

The best on the market, Boss is a Roland subcompany. The br-1180 features C.O.S.M. technology. Same rooms, mic modeling, amps, and effects as the acclaimed and innovative VS- series Roland 's top digital recorders. CD 's can be wriiten at 2x up to 8x speed and sound great, and the line level outputs are very clean and powerful, especially if you use a GOLD SERIES RCA cable.

Never failed my once. Never freezez and provides plenty of storage space I record demos for clients who need help arranging teir music and it never warned me once about running out of disk space. I record rough drafts of songs at the lowest but still very clean digital quality which saves disk space and then I do the final tracking and mastering of a song at the highest quality. Never freezes, burps or wines. Quiet as a mouse.

Never needed them for any of my Boss gear and I had the br-532 digital 4-track recorded before I bought this br-1180. That is why I bought this one. Can't wait for the 40gigabyte 16-track Boss model. (You listening Boss Inc.?? LOL.)Heard they are pretty good over the phone with answers though.

Now the dirt; it could use the ability to record more than 2 tracks at a time. The new Korg dr-1600 can record 8 tracks at a time and has a 40 gig hard drive, both the br-1180 and the Korg dr-1600 are uncompressed 24-bit, 44k. But the Korg has a SCSI port to run your computer sequences into the dr-1600 br-1180 has no SCSI. It could also use more than one level of undo. The dr-1600 allows you 99 levels of undo. But that's all that I can think of that the br-1180 doesn't do! It imports wav. files and it has easy panning, and eq, and easy effects modification. The Mastering tool kit is really cool too. Add compression, reverbs, limiters and overall eq to the mixdown before printing your CD. Very happy to own my Boss br-1180, but for $300.00 more I may soon get the new Korg dr-1600.

Concerning ease of use, although this is an easy machine to learn ( in comparison to other digital multitrackers) still there are some areas that I was not quite comfortable with and is why I am adding this hopefully helpfull hint for some of you BR1180 owners. The manual covers a lot but sometimes it is eaiser to watch someone else walk you through all the features of the machine. What I am talking about is the (Roland video onwers manual) for the BR1180cd. Maybe some of you already know it is available. I just recieved mine a couple of weeks ago, (ordered it through one of the big music mail order places) but I am sure it is available through Roland as well. Does it sound as though I am trying to sell you somthing?, well I am not I just know how frustrating it is to have purchased a new piece of gear and not be able use it to its full potential or be confused about how to operate it. The video will walk you through every feature on the 1180, very informative. I no longer need a users group to learn the more in depth features of the machine. My review for this product was the first one and I still cant wait for more of you to rate this product. Since I have had mine and since my first review I have more respect for the machine than ever. I have been running my Boss GT6 into the line ins of the BR1180 and then running it through an edited mic-modeling preset,(awesome!) I am finding out that the possibilities are almost endless with just whats inside the 1180. Great stuff, I hope this helps some of you out there.

The preset sounds are growing on me, after I edit them ofcourse. I am finding out that they seem to set well and cut through in a mix even though sometimes I dont think an individual sound really sounds good. It all depends on your whole mix and how that sound sets with the others. I have always heard that mixing is an art, well now I am starting to realize it and I know I have a long road ahead of me.

I have had mine a few months now and while it is not a real long time it has worked flawlessly, I turn it on ond off several times a day and I also took it on a week long vacation. Mine works PERFECT.

Roland/Boss has a technical assistance number. I have called them a couple of times (before I got the video) and they answered my questions in detail. They actually knew what I was talking about.

Even after seeing the new Korg D1200, Yamaha`s AW16G and Zooms MRS1266 I am still happy with the BR1180cd. Its just a tool for making music and I think it does it quite well. I have not read a negitive review yet. Check out the August edition of (GUITARIST) if you need to reassure yourself.

I have done a bit of recording before and I found this machine very easy to use. The hardest part was setting up the drum patterns, which I attribute to me not being much of a drummer. The manual is very helpful and I skimmed through it in about 1/2 hr.

I have a Fender Strat and Samick Bass and some crappy microphone and a Yahama keyboard. The vocal effects really helped improve my mike sound. I love what I have done already with it, and with more practise and a better mike I could get a better quality sound.

I think it's durable. I have had no problems so far and I owned mine for a cople of months now.

Never had to.

I mostly play gospel, and I would catergorize my own compositions as Blues-Rock. I have been playing for over 10 years now and I have Fender Deluxe 112 Amp. Fender Acoustic. If my unit was stolen I would definitely get another one. I love everything about it and plan on owning for a few years.

I was specifically looking for something easy to use as I'm not too techy and don't like things too virtual. This really is as easy to use as something like this can be. I've already banged down a load of tracks fairly easily.

I have had some noise using guitar and keyboards, but I think it
may be coming from the instruments themselves or from leads I'm using
as vocal are crystal clear. I'm pretty pleased with my first (hurriedly put-together) batch of tunes. I think with due care and attention the sound should be excellent.

The first one i got was faulty(hard disk)but Boss replaced it straight away. Remember that it is as delicate as a pc and you should be ok. With the new one I've had no problems whatsoever.

Company replaced a damaged one straight away. Tech support ran through a few things with me just to check that it was faulty and not
just user error which is fair enough.

I am very very pleased with it. I wish I'd had one years ago.
It is very easy to use. I'm not sure that you could quite produce finished professional product on it but it's damn close. I'll not be near a pro studio again unless some record company is throwing millions at me (unlikely)

This unit is extremely easy to use stright out of the box. I was recording things within the hour! The Manual contains a quick start guide as well as details for advanced use of the unit. Editing effects and rhythm patterns is fairly easy if you've had a bit of experience wih this type of thing before, ie. Subscreens, Menus and